Community meets to discuss development of Trent’s endowment lands

Trent Parcels_1

(PETERBOROUGH) A conference room at the Holiday Inn buzzed with chatter as Peterborough residents shared thoughts on how Trent can best use it’s endowment lands.
Participants brought up concerns over commercial development, stewardship and connectivity to the downtown core during the first of three community consultation sessions set to take place over five months.
Throughout the session on Nov. 28, Trent University and professional planning representatives started the conversation revolving around the school’s 226 hectares of endowment lands, and the long-term plan that’s proposed to guide its development in the coming years and decades.
Community members were asked to comment on the guiding principals of the former Endowment Lands Master Plan, developed in 2006, which includes promoting sustainable development, protecting nature areas, creating high quality public space and architecture, and showcasing innovation, to name a few.
Other issues participants were asked to consider, which appear in the former plan, include creating a campus greenbelt, using the four natural drumlins as landmarks on the campus to give it a rural feel, and creating a walkable campus -- something Trent is already designed to do, says Harold Madi, with the Professional Planning Firm.
If Trent follows in the footsteps of other universities across the continent who’ve developed extra land surrounding schools, the possibilities are relatively endless, according to Mr. Madi, who explained the up and downsides of what’s already been done.
UniverCity, a part of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, sits on Burnaby Mountain. It’s a compact, walkable community with a planned population of 10,000.
Also in the west at the University of British Columbia, is a series of eight neighbourhoods, dubbed University Town, with a planned population of 18,000.
Research parks are a popular addition to university lands across Canada and the United States, as the facilities often join up with the university to complete research, and offer many university students job opportunities.
During one of the roundtable discussions, a group of six community members discussed the values they’d like to see maintained throughout development of the land and the need to to generate a return on investments.
Ernie Ferguson says ensuring the university is connected to the downtown is essential.
“I know the university has brought a lot to the community, but the community can bring a lot to the university, if they allow it,” he says.
The group also discussed the importance of connectivity around campus, when considering “villages” to house students and amenities to serve them. The table agreed some of the development should provide more residence options for students.
“It’s not really “if you build it they will come” in this situation,” says Ian Attridge. “They don’t have to come -- they’re already waiting to move in.”
Any development, says Mr. Attridge, should be phased outwards from the university’s core, otherwise, there isn’t anything to connect it to.
Caroline Tennent, Trent alumni, would like to see planning aspects consider the heritage of the land, including any historical background involving local First Nations.
Kate Shannon, is also particularly concerned about the heritage of the land.
Ms Shannon’s father, who owned land along the 9th line in Douro, had his land expropriated to the university back in the late 1960’s.
“I don’t have any first-hand knowledge of this,” she says, adding she and her mother are currently working to find out exactly what happened to the land. “But now it’s classified as “endowment” lands. I just feel that there should be some transparency here. . . I’m not even sure if the planners are aware of this.”
Ms Shannon says her father tried to fight the expropriation for 20 years.
“He didn’t want to give it up,” she says. “I do know a couple of neighbours were very up in arms about it. I’m sure there is an answer somewhere.”
According to Dennis Carter-Edwards, president of the local historical society, there were, and still are, some very deep-rooted feelings over expropriated lands.
“One of the negotiators was chased off of a property with a shotgun,” he says.
Julie Davis, vice president of external relations and advancement at Trent, says while the evening was really to review planning principals and get the consultation process started, she hopes to obtain some insight as to what the community’s needs are, as the plan is to develop the lands based on both student and community needs.
“The vision of the original master plan was to create a very large campus with significant community assets and nature areas,” she says. “We are now starting to fulfill those ideas. . . We don’t want this to be a point of contention,” she says. “We drive $300 million in revenue -- you want to have us here.”